THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX - Exploring new projects

The concert season is now in full swing, and I could not be happier to be back in the middle of it all.

This month I got to do a few things that are somewhat ‘outside the box’ for me. 

It was such great fun to return to the pre-concert lecture stage at Reinberger Hall in Cleveland, Ohio. 

The Cleveland Orchestra presented four concerts of works by Colridge-Taylor, Elgar, and Dvorak. I got to introduce each work to the audience in the chamber hall located just below the auditorium.

I usually like to explore the piano works of the composers I get to introduce. It gives me a good idea how the composers thought about harmony and structure. This time I played samples of Colridge-Taylor’s solo piano music. 

Another ‘outside the box’ event was an invitation to the Aurora School of Music. 

What a discovery!

The school features its own concert hall, and extensive practice and teaching facilities. The founder, Vera Holczer, fulfilled her dream of building a music school from scratch.

The school now has about 1000 students.

I got to work with young pianists for a full afternoon of coachings. The level of playing and the commitment to music making was very impressive. 

Just around the corner is another video production, this time at a well appointed private residence. 

I am planning to record piano works by Scarlatti, Schubert, Chopin, and a work by James Wilding written especially for the occasion. The video will most likely be released in February for a festival. I’ll tell you all about it soon.

Speaking about outside the box engagements I am getting ready to play Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker in collaboration with a ballet company for the holidays. I can’t wait to see how it all will look on stage. For now I get to enjoy the christmassy sounds of the beloved Sugar Plum Fairy on my piano.